IPL 2021: Rating the title winning chances of all teams in UAE

After hosting a successful IPL season in the UAE in 2020, BCCI decided to host the league in India in 2021. The league was planned to be held in six cities, two venues at a time. As the tournament started, everything looked quite well-managed and safe. However, as the cases in India rose owing to the second COVID-19 wave, it was only a matter of time before which the virus entered the IPL bio-bubble too. The BCCI tried its best to maintain a safe environment, but these bio-secure bubbles are never foolproof and the virus can enter through unknown sources. Despite this, a month later, after the Special General Meeting of the BCCI, good news made the headlines. The BCCI announced that the remaining matches of the IPL 2021 will be played in the UAE from the 19th of September till the 14th of October across three venues. As the matches continue in September, it will be interesting to see how the teams fare as the change of venue is likely to change the fortunes for many of the teams. So, here we rank the IPL teams on their chances of winning the title in the UAE: 8) Kolkata Knight Riders Kolkata Knight Riders. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI) The two-time IPL winning side, KKR were having quite an off-season when the league was suspended. Their batting order looked scrambled, the bowlers were leaking runs and all in all the franchise looked quite lost. They won just two of their seven games playing very average cricket. If they wish to do well in the second leg of the league, they need to be clinical and improve quickly as only half of the tournament is left. Firstly, they need to sort their batting order out. There were a lot of talks around playing Andre Russell up the order, which should definitely be implemented soon. Their bowling too needs to fire as even they looked off-color many a times. Winning the title surely looks tough from this point, however, they will be looking to follow and trust their processes in order to improve going forward. 7) Punjab Kings Punjab Kings Team. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI) The Punjab Kings are quite a decent side and even they have been quite inconsistent in their performances which is proving to be quite a problem for them. In the 2021 season, they had a good start to the season as they put up a thunderous batting performance against the Rajasthan Royals. However, problems with their bowling surfaced as they won the match by a single run while defending a total in excess of 220. As the league progressed, along with the bowling, their batting dipped too in certain matches. As a result, they lost five out of their eight games played and slipped to the seventh position. As the tournament will continue in the UAE, they will back their batsmen to return to form. Along with players like KL Rahul and Chris Gayle, they will also want their million-dollar babies, Jhye Richardson and Riley Meredith to prove their worth. Winning the title looks difficult, but they will definitely try their best to be in the final four. 6) Sunrisers Hyderabad Sunrisers Hyderabad. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI) As the IPL was called off, a lot of things were happening in the SRH camp. They were standing last in the points table and their most successful captain and premier batsman, David Warner, was sacked as captain and was also dropped from the team following his dry run with the bat. Kiwi skipper who recently led his team to the WTC title was made the team’s captain and everyone was hoping for a change in fortunes. Thus, SRH were facing a strange season as they were not among the strugglers in the past few years. A break in the league will definitely help them as they will have a chance to clear their heads and revisit their strategies. Even in 2020, the Orange Army did not have a wonderful start to the season but fought their way back later in the tournament and reached the playoffs stage. However, in this season, they are lagging back a long way as they stand at the last position. They will definitely improve their performance and avoid the wooden spoon but their chances of winning the title are less too. 5) Rajasthan Royals Rajasthan Royals Celebrating. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI) Even Rajasthan were in a spot of bother when the IPL was suspended. To start off, their pace ace Jofra Archer didn’t turn up for the season, their priced all-rounder Ben Stokes was ruled out after the first league match itself, few others foreign players left early and they were struggling for overseas players. As they were battling such problems, their last match before the league suspension came quite good. Jos Buttler, who was blowing hot and cold along the season, produced a wonderful century and other batsmen contributed well. The bowlers too put up a decent performance which resulted in a complete team win. This match would have surely given them some belief that if they play to their potential, they will actually fare quite well. If players like Jofra Archer and Ben Stokes do return, it will be a huge boost. Thus, RR must improve in the second leg and will try to reach the playoffs at least, if not the final, and rank fifth on this list. 4) Royal Challengers Bangalore Royal Challengers Bangalore. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI) Since the 2020 season, RCB’s performances have improved without any doubt. After a horrendous couple of seasons, the team has rebuilt well and looks on song now. However, despite starting the 2020 season well, they qualified for the playoffs by the net run rate factor and were knocked out in the eliminator itself. This year too they started strongly, winning their first four games. They slipped a bit in two other games and stood at the third spot at the end of the first leg of the IPL with 10 points in the bag. Although they played really well in the games they won, the losses exposed few old problems. The problems include overdependence on Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers and faulty death bowling. It is almost certain that they will be in the final four, however, to win the championship they will have to play out of their skins to defeat the other three strong qualifying teams. 3) Mumbai Indians Mumbai Indians. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI) If we talk about winning the title, MI will definitely be mentioned here. After defending their title successfully in 2020, a lot was expected from them this season too. It is a fact that MI have looked quite clumsy this season. Some of their biggest match-winners of last season such as Hardik Pandya, Ishan Kishan, and Jasprit Bumrah haven’t fired at all. Some of the experts have pointed out the role played by the sluggish Chepauk pitch, where MI played five of their seven games yet. So, a change in venue will definitely help. The pitches in the UAE will help the batsmen surely and having won the title there last year will give them confidence. Currently, at number four in the table, MI can rise up in no time given their squad, and they also have a chance to achieve a unique feat of winning a hat-trick of IPL cups. 2) Chennai Super Kings Chennai Super Kings. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI) The 2020 season was quite unusual for CSK. Apart from not qualifying for the playoffs, they also became the first team to be knocked out from the race. Although the fans were disappointed, MS Dhoni being MS Dhoni, was not fussed about it much. In the 2021 season, in the first match, they lost heavily to the Delhi Capitals. This gave an impression that their season would be similar to the previous one. However, what followed was astonishing. Vintage CSK was back as they won their next five straight games. All three departments were firing in tandem and they looked as strong as ever. As the IPL will return to the UAE in September, CSK will try to book a spot in the top two. If they continue such performances, their fourth IPL cup might be on the way. 1) Delhi Capitals Delhi Capitals. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI) Delhi are probably the most improved IPL side in recent times. Under the inspiring guidance of Ricky Ponting, Delhi qualified for the playoffs in 2019 and the finals in 2020. Even in the 2021 season, despite missing their skipper Shreyas Iyer, they played some good cricket and won 6 out of their 8 games placing them at the top of the table at the time of suspension of the league. The Capitals were on song in the UAE last year as they looked very confident and were troubled only by the Mumbai Indians throughout the season. So, going back to the UAE won’t be a problem for them as they have already been successful there. After faltering at the final stage last year, Delhi will be hoping to set things right this time around. Keeping the right temperament for the critical games will be the key for them as performance isn’t an issue for them. Thus, Delhi looks on track to win their maiden title when the IPL resumes in September.

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IPL 2021: Rating the title winning chances of all teams in UAE

Change of venues might not make it easy for a few teams.

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